The ride was very well orchestrated whereby they would pick the runners from various points (hotels) and then bring them there. We manage to catch the last bus to the starting point and this is the first time that I have taken a transport to the point of race. Upon reaching the area, we were greeted b a magnificent bridge and we could actually see the starting point banner. From there we decided to deposit our bags first and to our surprise the baggage area was actually quite well organised whereby the bags are separated by numbers and it was clearly marked at the racks.
After that, we decided to head towards the stating area for warming up. As I was striding along the bridge, suddenly the lights were off!! It was pitch dark at the area and there was nothing much I could see except that I needed to be careful while warming up. I mean, I am not sure whether this is a surprise to the runners or is it a miscommunication between the organisers and the local TNB's.
Soon after, the 42km starts! I was very kan cheong at that point. A lot of things is running through my mind and my confidence was quite low at that point. The injury was lingering in my mind all the time. I guess that since I am this far, I might as well enjoy the race and take some pictures.
Well, just to capture this moment, I decided to start from the last. I actually carried in my hand the camera from start to finish without using a pouch. Also as an insurance, I decided to carry a small plastic bag with me in the event that there is a downpour. I ran as fast as I could so as to catch up with runners and snap their pictures. I was running at around 70% max out!! Just to show, see the people in action below.
Well I just decided to continue and sprint down the road in a hope to catch other runners especially the PM's. But some of the are too power they just power ahead of me and there is not much of chance to catch them except if they are on the returning opposite.
Well, as we are strutting ahead with our minds enjoying the view, the elite runners are on their returning leg.
I mean, looking at them running makes me wonder if their bodies are more of a machine without any limitations. They were running so fast that it is impossible to contemplate what is going on in their bodies. After chugging along for a good 10mins or so, came the mind breaking mother of all roundabouts. I mean in races a roundabout is usually small to medium in size but nothing as big as those in Sarawak. I mean they are really huge and looking at the distance you need to run through you seriously need some tough mindset. This is only the first that we encounter and there were many more to come.
At this place, manage to catch up with Kevin and gang.
Well, as I was running down the road, I realized that the chances of me catching another PM which I knew would be difficult. So it's time to focus on the run. Before long, the first water station came and I just took a sip of the whole bottle which they have provided. Looking at the race, I cannot help but wonder how did they manage to get the funding where the race participants were not charged for this race while provided such good goodies. As I was chugging along, I manage to spot one of the runners whereby I was familiar with his style of running. It was PM1 charging along on the return leg of the race.
As I was running along, there were many interesting buildings around to take pictures. Below are just some of them:
I just continued and continued running until, came the downpour! Ha! My instincts were right to bring a plastic bag along. I mean, the sky just opened up!
Before long, I saw light. It was the sign saying the U turn for the 21km. Relief.
On the returning leg, spotted woofy running well!! Go woofy!
As I was running, I felt an intense heat. I am not sure where the heat came from but then suddenly it was on full blast and we actually felt like being cooked under the sun. It was a hot day..a really hot day.
I had sunburn during the run and looking at the above pictures, I mean it will really break a runners mind. It is just too hot to run. On the way back it was a relief that there were trees around. I shaded the runners from direct exposure of the sun and to a certain extent, it helped .
Before long, we were approaching the finishing line, and it was a great feeling as I did not encounter any problems during the run. Maybe snapping the pictures helped as I stopped to rest while clicking away.
I just ran and ran and ran. I mean I was quite overjoyed never expecting to finish this race. Wohoo!! I am finishing!!
Well, this is the funny part of the race. Just meters before the race I actually stopped and take pictures of the finishing line and my time. It caused some unexpected stares and reactions as they know that usually runners would race to the finishing line ending a race but I think none of them would actually stop few meters before the finishing line to take pictures. Look at the pictures below and their reactions.
Well, I ended the race happily but not so much after that. As I moved towards the medal collection area, it was heaped by 10k runners which is snatching the medals away! I mean the volunteers there just handed out the medals like nobody's business! Maybe this is one area which they need to improve whereby all the volunteers need to be briefed properly before the race so that they can know what they should do. However, we manage to lodge a complain to the organisers and they had mentioned to mail to us the medals after it had been made.
All in all, today it was a good day for me. It was a memorable race as this is the first time I had to take a flight to participate in races and it was a good experience for me.I manage to finish in the time of 2hrs 22mnis. I am satisfied considering my knee injury is still there and I was wearing my racing flats.
I will be publishing my final part very soon. Be patient ya!
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